The present invention relates to mattress covers and more particularly to fitted mattress covers having a fabric material top panel to overlay the top surface of the mattress, and side and end panels depending from the top panel for fitting around the sides and ends of the mattress.
Fitted mattress coverings are, per se, known.
As used herein, the term mattress cover is used in its generic sense to mean sheets, and covers used underneath sheets to protect the mattress, and bed spreads used over sheets to provide a neat or decorative appearance to a bed. Also, as used herein, the term elastic cord is used in its generic sense to mean, for example, all strips or yarns of an elastic material.
One well-known type of fitted sheet includes a top fabric panel of relatively inextendible or non-stretchable fabric to overlay the top surface of a mattress, and depending side and end panels also of a relatively inextendible or non-stretchable fabric to overlay the sides and ends, respectively, of the mattress. The adjacent ends of the depending end and side panels are sewn together so that the juncture of the adjoined side and end panels, and the top panel forms four corners for receiving the four corners of the mattress, and an elastic band is sewn to the bottom edges of the side and bottom panels defining a bottom opening. When the sheet is installed on a mattress, the elastic band pulls the bottom peripheral edge of the side and end panels over the peripheral bottom edge of the mattress to hold the sheet in place and to take up or pull any excess material of the depth of the side and end panels of the sheet beneath the mattress. In addition, because all mattresses are not of the same peripheral dimension or, for that matter, thickness dimension, a mattress cover of this known type with side panels of a specified width will only properly tightly fit a limited size range of mattresses. When installed on a mattress which is too small either in the peripheral dimension or in the thickness dimension, or both dimensions, this heretofore-known sheet will not fit tightly resulting in a loose fit which allows the cover to slip relative to the mattress. Also, when this heretofore-known sheet is installed on a mattress, which is too small for it to fit tightly, creases can be formed in the loose top fabric panel which can be an irritation and uncomfortable to a person laying on the mattress.
One such proposed solution offered by Perfect Fit Industries marketed under their trademarks "FLEXWALL" and "BEDSACK" is to provide the depending side panels and end panels of a mattress covering so that these side panels and end panels will resiliently extend or stretch in a direction perpendicular to the length of the side panels and end panels, that is, in the direction of the thickness of the mattress when installed thereon. This feature may solve the problem of adapting a mattress cover to fit mattresses of different thickness dimensions, but it does not solve the problem of adapting a mattress cover to fit mattresses of different peripheral dimensions. In addition, the construction of this mattress cover is relatively expensive. The side panels and end panels are formed of three overlaying fabric sheets. One of the outside fabric layers is the outside or exposed surface of the side and end panels, and the other one of the outside fabric layers is the inside surface of the side and end panels. The fabric material of these outside layers is substantially non-extendible, and the fabric of the intermediate layer is an elastic or stretchable. The non-extendible outer fabric layers are overlayed on the intermediate membrane layer when it is in a stretched condition in one direction, and the outer layer are sewn to the intermediate membrane layer by widely spaced-apart stitch lines of inelastic threads. When the intermediate membrane layer is relaxed, large folds are formed in the outer fabric layers. The side and end panels are attached to the top panel with the inelastic threads perpendicular to the longitudinal direction or length dimension of the side and end panels such that when the cover is installed on a mattress, the longitudinal axis of the large folds are parallel to the longitudinal direction of the side and end wals of the mattress.
Various other proposed solutions are shown in the following U.S. Patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,528,313 issued on Oct. 31, 1950 to William L. Kessler discloses a mattress cover, and more particularly a sheet, of a single piece of knitted resilient fabric having greater stretch in one direction. The fitted mattress cover has a top panel and depending side and end panels stitched together at their junctures to form four corners each for receiving a different one of the corners of the mattress. The top panel has the greatest stretch in the transverse direction or crosswise of the mattress, the side panels have their greatest stretch perpendicular to their length dimension or in the direction of the thickness of the mattress, and the end panels have their greatest stretch in their length dimension or in the direction of the width of the mattress.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,569,627 issued on Oct. 2, 1951 to Morris Black discloses a one-piece self-stretching fitted bed sheet having a rectangular top panel and depending side and end panels stitched together at their junctures to form four corners each for receiving a different one of the corners of the mattress. The bottom edges of the side and end panels are folded over and sewn to form folds, and a peripheral elastic type is located in the folds.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,624,893 issued on Jan. 13, 1953 to Stanley Harris discloses a one-piece fitted bed sheet having a rectangular top panel and depending side and end panels. An elastic corner gore gusset is located between the adjacent end of the side and end panels and sewn thereto to form four corners each for receiving a different one of the corners of the mattress. The elastic gores or gusset have their direction of stretch in the direction of the thickness of the mattress.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,639,444 issued on May 26, 1953 to Estelle S. deMonsabert discloses a fitted mattress cover having rectangular top and bottom panels of a plastic, water repellant material. Side panels and end panels are stitched to the top and bottom panels forming a rectangular enclosure. One of the end panels is formed with a slot through which the mattress is received in the enclosure of the mattress cover. The side and end panels are fabricated of rough-textured, elasticized cotton webbing with a two-way stretch to draw the top and bottom panels into contact with the adjacent top and bottom surfaces of the mattress.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,942,280 issued on June 28, 1960 to Winston L. May discloses a fitted bed sheet having a rectangular top panel and depending side and end panels stitched to the top panel and stitched together at their juncture to form four corners each for receiving a different one of the corners of the mattress. The top panel is fabricated of an inextensible or non-stretchable material such as percale or muslin. The side and end panels are fabricated of a knitted resilient fabric material which is primarily extensible or stretchable in the direction of the depth or thickness of the mattress. In addition, an elastic member is attached to the bottom edges of the side and bottom panels.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,273,175 issued on Sept. 20, 1966 to Martin Anderson discloses a fitted sheet formed of one piece of non-stretchable fabric having a rectangular top panel and depending side and end panels stitched together at their junctures to form four corners each for receiving a different one of the corners of the mattress. Tensioned elastic strips are attached to the corners only of the sheet at the bottom edges of the side and end panels adjacent the corners.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,290,702 issued on Dec. 13, 1966 to Norman Seltzer discloses a fitted sheet fabricated of a single piece of elastic fabric having a top panel and depending side and end panels stitched together at their junctures to form four corners each for receiving a different one of the corners of the mattress. The stretchable or elastic fabric is stretchable or recoverable in one direction and is stabilized in the other direction. This fabric consists of interwoven sets of warp and filling yarns stretchable only either in the direction of the warp, or alternatively in the direction of the filling yarns. The sheet is constructed so that the stretch of the fabric is in the width-wise direction of the mattress and, therefore, the side panels are stretchable in the direction of the thickness of the mattress and the end panels are stretchable in the direction of the width of the mattress.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,789,441 issued on Feb. 5, 1974 to Sidney M. Weiss discloses a fitted sheet fabricated of a single piece of a balanced and stabilized two-way stretch knitted fabric, such as jersey, having a top panel and depending side and end panels stitched together at their junctures to form four corners each for receiving a different one of the corners of a mattress.